At need
The first 48 hours, in five steps
Someone has died, in the last day or two. Far less has to happen right now than it feels like, and almost none of it has to happen tonight. These are the five things, in the order they come up.
No form, email or phone number to see prices. We never sell your details to funeral homes, and nothing here is sold to you.
When you reach step four: see what funeral homes near you charge ↓
Five things, in order
Do them one at a time. Each section says what can wait.
Get the death confirmed, and the body into safe hands
Who to call depends on where it happened. Nothing else has to be decided tonight.
Read this step →Tell the people who must know first
Family by voice, then whoever has the right to make the arrangements.
Read this step →Find the papers before you sign anything
A plan may already exist and be paid for. Ten minutes of looking can save thousands.
Read this step →Choose a funeral home with prices in hand
Ask for the price list, compare two or three, and don't sign at the door.
Read this step →Order the death certificates, then let the rest wait
Several copies, and a list of what can wait a week.
Read this step →
01 · The first hour
Get the death confirmed, and the body into safe hands
Who you call depends on where it happened. In every case the body can be held for a while, and the choice of funeral home can wait until tomorrow. You do not have to name one on the phone.
Under hospice care
Call the hospice line, not 911. A nurse comes, confirms the death, and will call whichever funeral home you name, or hold that until you have chosen. Nothing else needs to happen tonight.
No hospice, no doctor present
Call 911. Police or a medical examiner may need to attend, and the body may go to the examiner's office before a funeral home can collect it. That is routine, not a judgement, and it buys you time to choose.
Staff confirm the death
The staff handle the confirmation and can hold the body for a short time. They will ask which funeral home to release to; "we haven't chosen yet" is an acceptable answer for a day.
What can wait
Tonight, only the first of these matters.
- Do I have to choose a funeral home now?
- No. A body can be held at a hospital, an examiner's office or a hospice-nominated home for a day or more. The home that collects the body is not the home you have to use.
- Do I have to decide burial or cremation now?
- No. That choice comes in step four, with prices in front of you. Nothing about it is lost by waiting a day.
- Should I sign anything tonight?
- Only what confirms identity or authorises the transfer. Anything with a price on it can wait until you have compared.
02 · The first day
Tell the people who must know first
Three calls matter more than the rest, and two of them decide who gets to make the arrangements at all.
Next of kin, by voice
A spouse, children, parents, siblings: by phone or in person, before anything is posted anywhere. One person can take the list so the calls are made once.
Whoever has the right to decide
Each state sets who has the legal right to arrange the funeral, and it is not always the closest relative. If the person named someone in writing, that person leads. Our state law pages say what we have checked for yours.
Everyone else
Employers, neighbours, the wider circle, social media: tomorrow, or the day after, once the people closest have heard it from you.
Who decides, by state
The first 24 hours, hour by hour
03 · The first day
Find the papers before you sign anything
A surprising number of people have already chosen and paid. Ten minutes in a desk drawer, and one question to the family, can save the whole cost of step four.
A pre-need contract or a paid plan
A folder from a funeral home, a receipt, an insurance policy assigned to a home. If one exists, that home already holds the choices and much of the money. Call them first.
A will or a letter of wishes
Burial or cremation, where, what kind of service, what not to spend on. A letter of wishes is often clearer than the will and usually kept with the people who need it.
Insurance, ID, service records
A life or final-expense policy number, so the beneficiary can claim. Photo ID for the certificate. If the person served in the military, their discharge papers, since burial benefits may apply.
04 · Day one to two
Choose a funeral home with prices in hand
This is the step that costs money, and the only one where a day's delay pays for itself. Two or three price lists side by side change what a fair number looks like.
The General Price List
Every funeral home has one and gives it out on request. Ask for it before you visit, and compare two or three. We publish the ones we have read, with the date.
The big choice first
Burial or cremation, and with or without a service. A direct cremation and a traditional burial can differ by several thousand dollars in the same town; everything else is detail.
Sign at the door
The home that collected the body is not the home you must use; moving between homes is normal. A price quoted on the doorstep is a starting point, not the bill.
Before you sign
The four questions that change the total most.
- What is the total for what we've chosen, not the package name?
- Ask for an itemised statement before signing. Packages hide what is in them; the price list does not.
- Which of these are cash-advance items?
- The obituary, the certified copies, the clergy, the flowers: passed through at cost, sometimes with a mark-up. Ask which, and whether you can arrange them yourself.
- Is the crematory on site?
- If not, there may be a second transfer fee. Where it is, and what the fee is, should be on the list.
- What happens if we change our minds?
- What is refundable before the service, and what is not. Get it in writing.
Step four, with prices in hand
What funeral homes near you actually charge
Every price we show comes from the funeral home's own General Price List, with the date we read it. Compare two or three before anyone asks for your number.
- Free, no form, no email
- The document behind every number
- You choose who to call
05 · Day two onward
Order the death certificates, then let the rest wait
The certified copies are the one piece of paper every later step needs. Order enough at once; everything after them is a list for next week, not tonight.
Several certified copies
Banks, insurers, pensions, the DMV and the title office each keep one. The funeral home usually orders them for you; the county charges per copy, and the fee is on our county pages. Count the banks, insurers and agencies that will each want one. How many to order.
What can wait
Bank accounts, subscriptions, the house, the car, the phone plan. None of it is lost by waiting a week, and much of it needs a certificate first anyway.
What only the executor does
Probate, the estate, the will's instructions. It runs on months, not days, and most of it is sequencing rather than law.
Certificates
Afterwards
Where we stand, in plain words
On most sites the first 48 hours end in a form. Here they end in a phone number you chose.
What you will not find here
A quote form that sends your number to several homes at once
A call-back within the hour from someone you didn't pick
A price you only see after you've handed over your details
Anything sold to you inside 72 hours of a death
Instead
Every price visible, with the document it came from and the date we read it
You pick the homes. You call them, or ask them to call you. Nobody else gets your number
Guides written by a named author and checked by a named reviewer
For arrangements now
Someone has died.
I need to find a funeral home and understand what to do next.
- Search where arrangements are needed
- Understand prices and compare homes
- Know whom to contact and what to ask
No signup needed · Calling comes first for urgent needs
For peace of mind later
I'm planning ahead.
I want my family to know my wishes, without having to guess.
- Record what matters, even if you're unsure
- Look at costs, with nothing to buy
- Print a plan you can share with family
No account or payment · Take it at your own pace